A couple who aspire to start their own music festival in the Highlands have featured on BBC show, Escape to the Country. Introducing the programme, presenter Alistair Appleton said: “The Scottish Highlands are a special mix of contradictions, where the scenery can be both rugged and brutal, while also gentle and beautiful. Home to Britain’s highest mountain and deepest loch.
” He also mentioned that the region’s vast landscape is “packed with hidden gems”, including Plodda Falls, before introducing viewers to Maia and Oliver, who are looking to move to the Highlands after 20 years living in East Sussex. With art and music at the “heart of pretty much everything they do”, the couple aim to “plug into the creative communities” that the Highlands has to offer. Maia n- who was raised in Scotland – runs her own arts studio, which she describes as her “happy place”.
Meanwhile Oliver has his own small music promotion business and is looking to leave behin the corporate world in which he currently works as a sustainability consultant. Both of them have five children combined, all of whom are “flying the nest” and will not be making the move north of the border. Due to having “really strong travel links” which is “important” for the couple, they said they wanted to be within an hour of the Highland capital so their children can visit for weekends.
As well as this, they also require: Property one The first property was located in Dingwall and the area made Maia “feel very happy” due to the fresh air and fine view, while her husband said the “physical and mental space” of the Highlands is important to him. A 1980s detached four-bedroom home located on the waterside was shown to the couple. Maia said she was “pretty bowled over” by the house, with Oliver expressing his “love” for the look of the house.
Featuring a open-plan living space, the property also included a double garage and had panoramic views. It was on the market for offers over £430,000. After this, they visited Nairn, where Maia and Oliver met the owner of bar, restaurant and live music venue Bandstand, in which its proprietor Paul Geddes gave them advice.
Property two The second property they visited took them north to Sutherland, as they visited a property in Ardgay, near Bonar Bridge. Situated near the Dornoch Firth, Maia described the five-bedroom former 19th century croft house – which was built over an existing property in 1980 – as looking “incredible”. Oliver was also impressed by its size, describing it as “slay”, with both happy to hear the former occupants would host house concerts at it.
As well as the house, it also came with a separate outside property, which was compared to being the size of village halls. On the market for offers over £400k, Maia said she felt “very excited about the possibilities” of it. Property three – mystery house Further north than intended was a four-bedroom 19th century shepherd’s cottage – which has since been extended – located on the edge of Golspie in Sutherland.
Described as the “quintessential Scottish house”, the property was the furthest north Maia and Oliver had been to in Scotland. And the latter was not put off by this and was impressed with its “character”. Coming with two acres of land, Maia said it was “absolutely stunning” and described it as being the “idea house” in the Highlands.
On the market for offers over £367k, both were put off by how close it was to the road. Whilst in the Highlands, Appleton met Steve Micklewright, the managing director of Trees for Life, whose aim is to restore the Caledonian Forest, as well as “bringing back jobs and livelihoods that have been lost to the Highlands”. Despite not buying any of the properties in offer, the couple said they all “had something” that they were interested it, whilst confirming that moving to the Highlands is the “right thing to do.
” At the end of the show, it was announced that Maia and Olivia found a property “offering everything” the day after filming ended and that they had had an offer accepted. You can watch the full show on the BBC iPlayer ..
